


I Have Nothing (if I don’t have you)

by ItsAlwaysBloodMagic



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Break Up, Crack, F/M, Fluff, Gratuitous use of The Bodyguard soundtrack, Humor, Karaoke, M/M, highspecs in a supporting role
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 09:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13315287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsAlwaysBloodMagic/pseuds/ItsAlwaysBloodMagic
Summary: Gladio and Noctis break up.  The crew hatches a plan to get them back together.  It involves karaoke.





	I Have Nothing (if I don’t have you)

**Author's Note:**

> I made a [ Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/12187135592/playlist/12X5glzCOQHvWLLoL1eFqH) for all the songs in this fic. Listen as you read!
> 
> [come visit me on Tumblr](https://itsalwaysbloodmagic.tumblr.com/)

"Karaoke. Really, Prom?"

"C’mon, it’ll be fun. You need a night out, anyway. You can’t keep falling asleep at 7pm, Noct." Prompto puts the finishing touches on Noct’s eyeliner and stands back to admire his work. "Anyway, you’re all done up now, and you shouldn’t just sit around looking beautiful at home. No one here to see your pretty face." He sweeps his eyes over Noctis, looking for imperfections. "Although those cargo shorts… maybe switch ’em out for skinny jeans?"

"No way. I hate skinny jeans. And besides, these are comfortable." Noctis wants to say comforting, but he wouldn’t admit that, not in a million years. Prompto knows, anyway.

"Dude, when was the last time you washed those?" And Prompto is giving him a pitying look that he hates, so he changes into skinny jeans (which are neither comfortable nor comforting) and stalks out the door with a huff.

A whoop and a victory tune follow in his wake.

_____

Gladio stares down into his beer and tries not to cry.

It sucks to be here without Noct. Ignis and Aranea are trying their best to manufacture a fun night out, but it’s just not working. He can’t help but feel like a third wheel when they’re sitting at the other end of the booth, Ignis’ arm slung over Aranea’s shoulder. They’re laughing and shouting and including him in the conversation, though, and that’s something. On the other hand, Ignis is fixing him with that look, the one that means he’s analyzing Gladio and piecing together a plan. Strengths, weaknesses, potential strategies to pull him out of his funk… it’s obvious and a little bit patronizing, and Gladio really is trying to be happy and enjoy the night. He doesn’t need his friends propping him up, he can do it on his own.

Ignis’ phone buzzes on the table. He picks it up and reads a text, glancing back toward the door before he texts back.

"What’s up? Someone else coming?" Gladio asks. He half hopes its Noct. The other half will die right here if Noctis walks through that door.

Ignis waves his hand dismissively. "No, just a work thing."

"Ah."

Silence.

Gladio drains his beer and stands. "Well, I better get on the list if I’m gonna sing tonight."

Aranea looks up sharply, and Ignis regards him with that same calculating look. "And what, exactly, do you plan on singing, Gladio? I do hope it’s not Whitney."

"No Whitney tonight," Aranea adds. "Doctor’s orders."

Gladio can hear Prompto’s voice in the back of his mind, chiming in with "…the love doctor!". He groans out loud, both for the bad joke and the fact that thinking about Prompto just makes him think about Noct. And yeah, he _was_ gonna sing Whitney. 'I will always love you'. Because it’s cathartic. And fuck you, Ignis.

He doesn’t say it. Instead he gives a shrug. "Not sure yet. Anybody want another drink?" 

Aranea says "yeah", and Ignis holds up his empty glass. Gladio heads to the bar.

He’s standing in line when he hears a woman’s voice singing the first words of 'I will always love you'. Someone beat him to the punch.

_____

Noctis sees him the minute they walk in the door. He stops in his tracks.

"No."

"Yes," Prompto says. "Noct, you gotta face him sometime --" 

He turns on his heel and heads right back out.

_____

When Gladio gets back to the table, Ignis is frantically texting.

"Work emergency?" he asks, passing out drinks.

At the same time, Aranea says, "someone beat you to the punch, big guy."

Gladio has a bad feeling about the whole damn night.

Fuck it. He’s getting drunk.

_____

In the parking lot, Prompto crosses his arms. He’s managed to get Nocts’ keys from him and is standing in front of the driver’s side door while Noctis does his best to steal them back.

"We’re not leaving," he says, "until you two kiss and make up."

"We broke up, Prom. It’s over. There won’t be any kissing and making up, okay?" Noctis is on edge. He’s kind of half yelling and he keeps running his hand through his hair, undoing the carefully stylized spikes in the back. Prompto spent over an hour on that hair.

"And you’re making the rest of us miserable."

Noct stops. Considers. "Right. Sorry." He casts his eyes down. "I, uh, I know."

"So get in there and do something about it."

A flick of the eyes upward, then off to the side. A huff.

"Fine. But we’re not sitting with them."

Prompto’s phone buzzes. He pulls it out of his pocket, reads the string of texts, and types out a response. 

_____

Fuck, this is awkward. Prompto and Noctis are sitting at the far side of the room, and somehow Prom has the chairs situated so Noctis is facing their table. Whitney is still playing in the background, a woman is hitting the notes perfectly, and it is the saddest thing Gladio has ever heard. He can’t help it, he keeps making puppy dog eyes at Noct, and there might still be tears. Ignis keeps kicking him under the table and Aranea snaps her fingers every time she catches him staring. "Eyes on me," she says.

Noctis isn’t looking back, anyway. He’s leaning over the table and speaking to Prompto, hissing at him, Gladio thinks. Then he’s leaning back, crossing his arms over his chest, and glowering. 

Prompto gets up and goes to the guy taking names for karaoke. Noctis keeps his eyes trained everywhere but at their table. Well, that’s not entirely true. Every once in a while he glares at Ignis.

Oh.

"You planned this, didn’t you?"

"Perhaps," Ignis says, and he’s smirking a little.

____

"And next up, we have… Noct Gar. Come on up, uh, Noct." The karaoke guy sounds uncertain.

Prompto stands and pulls Noctis up. "You heard him dude, it’s your turn."

"I don’t sing," Noctis says.

"You do now, buddy. Come on!" And Prompto is grabbing his hand and pulling, so Noct follows. 

Then he’s on the stage alone, and it’s bright, and everybody is staring at him, and he kind of wants to die.

The song starts. He recognizes it. He points at Prompto. "You’re dead," he says, into the microphone.

____

Ignis is facepalming. It’s possible he’s never used that word in a sentence before, but here it is. Face to palm.

He’s also texting under the table, trying not to draw Gladio’s attention. Its okay though, because Gladio is staring at the stage, rapt.

[Iggy] _Prompto. Why?_

[Prompto Argentum] _IDK dude, I thought it was a good idea?_

[Iggy] _Well, it’s not._

[Prompto Argentum] _☹ sry?_

[Iggy] _Fix it._

_____

Ignis is facepalming, and Aranea is outright laughing, and Prompto needs to fix this, right now. He gets up and crosses the room, sliding into the booth next to Nea.

"What’s up, guys? Didn’t know you were gonna be here tonight."

"…And now you’ve blown our cover," Ignis says, and his face sinks even deeper into his hand, if that’s even possible.

Gladio doesn’t look at Prompto, so he leans across his friends and punches a muscular shoulder. "Hey there, big guy," he squeaks out. "Good to see ya!"

He gets a downright pitiful look for his trouble. "Hey," Gladio says weakly, before his eyes turn back to the stage. And oh, they’re wet around the corners. Prompto feels a tug of sympathy. Poor guy. It sucks to have your heart broken.

Prompto almost cries himself. Well, maybe he does, just a little. He wipes his hand over his cheek, and yep, those are tears.

Aranea wraps an arm around him. "You’re a good kid, you know that?"

_____

Noctis can’t believe he’s doing this.

 _The Bodyguard_ soundtrack. If it was done to anybody else, Noctis would congratulate his friend on being a fucking genius.

And maybe he is, because Noct is kinda getting into it.

Okay, really getting into it.

He’s hitting all the notes, because he practices this song. It’s his someday-I’ll-be-perfect-and-sing-this-at-karaoke song. He was lying when he said he didn’t sing - he exclusively sings Whitney Houston, and only at karaoke. He’s known for it.

He reaches the second verse, and he finds himself locking eyes with Gladio. 

_Take my love_  
_I'll never ask for too much_  
_Just all that you are_  
_And everything that you do_

Something swells in his chest.

_I don't really need to look_  
_Very much further_  
_I don't want to have to go_  
_Where you don't follow_  
_I will hold it back again_  
_This passion inside_  
_Can't run from myself_  
_There's nowhere to hide..._

And Gladio must be feeling something similar, because he’s standing, and holding eye contact, and mouthing along to the chorus.

Somebody has handed Gladio a second microphone, and when did that happen? All of a sudden Noctis is the one being serenaded, and all he can do is stand there and smile like a big idiot.

Gladio walks slowly toward the stage.

_Stay in my arms if you dare_  
_Or must I imagine you there_  
_Don't walk away from me..._  
_I have nothing, nothing, nothing,_  
_If I don't have you._  


And he’s on stage with Noct and they’re holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes, and somehow Noct manages to get out the line about Gladio breaking down his walls with the strength of his love, and Gladio is sobbing and Noct can feel tears on his face. He hears a whoop from the crowd and looks up. Prompto has moved over to sit with Aranea and Ignis. He’s standing on the booth, tears streaming down _his_ face, and he’s cheering them on.

_____

Gladio stands and feels himself being pulled toward the stage by some invisible force. He isn’t in charge of his feet, and he isn’t in charge of his voice when he starts singing along. Shit, a part of him mumbles, but it’s in the back of his brain, and the rest of him is so overwhelmed by the pure romance of this gesture, this thing that Noct is doing for him, that he feels like he’s falling into an abyss.

Sometime later he claws his way out and finds himself face to face with Noct, his arms cinched tight around a familiar waist. Their faces are as close as they can be while holding two microphones and damn if he isn’t as happy as he’s ever been in his life. They’re singing in tandem now, and the song is coming to a close, the last chorus rising up from his throat like a tidal wave, and he’s leaning forward, capturing Noct’s lips in his. The microphones fall with a loud _thump_ and a screech, but he doesn’t care because he is dipping Noctis now like they’re on the cover of one of his romance novels. They right themselves, and Gladio finds himself staring into the most beautiful eyes he’s ever seen, eyes he’s stared into a million times before, but never like this. Those eyes hold wonders. They are wonderous. And the look Noct is giving him, like he’s the only person in the world… wow.

_____

"See, Iggy? Told you I’d fix it."

"I rather think they did that all on their own."

_____

The rest of the night goes by in a blur. Prompto gets up and sings 'Little Red Corvette', and everybody is surprised because usually Prompto sings 'Creep' by Radiohead and Noctis has to tell him he does belong here, and he is special, and to stop it already. Then everybody is a little concerned because Prompto is clearly singing directly to the smarmy regular who only ever sings 'Closer' by Nine Inch Nails. Prompto winks at the guy and gets a downright lustful look in return, and Noctis decides the guy is gonna get punched by the time the night is out.

"Dude," Noctis says from under Gladio’s arm when Prompto returns to the table, "what the fuck?"

"What?" and it’s clear Prompto is a little bit drunk at this point.

"Creepy Ardyn? Really Prom?"

Aranea moves to get out of the booth and then shoves Prompto in so he’s sandwiched between her and Ignis. Creepy Ardyn is on the stage now, singing 'Closer', as predicted. He’s staring right at Prompto while he does it, looking like he would very much like to feel him from the inside, and Noctis decides the dude is most _definitely_ getting punched tonight. 

He turns his full attention on his best friend, hoping valiantly that something he says will get through, because now Prompto is leaning over the table with his chin propped up on his hands, sighing wistfully.

"Remember the time he insisted on following us home?"

"Noct, we were drunk. He wanted to make sure we got home safe."

"…and when I suggested we ride with him instead he said something about the fare being too high for our liking?"

"He was being a gentleman."

"Prom. No."

The song ends, and Prompto’s eyes follow the guy clear back to his table. "I’d climb him like a tree," Prompto says under his breath. Its almost so low that Noct doesn’t hear it.

"That’s it. You’re sleeping at my place tonight. Between me and Gladio. No sneaking out." Noctis makes his voice as sharp as he can.

"But you two -- " 

"No arguments, Prom," Gladio says. And that shuts him up.

Gladio is called back up to the stage. He gives a rendition of 'Don’t Stop Believing' that has everybody singing along. Prompto is standing on his seat again, yelling at the top of his lungs, and Noctis is glad, because it means he’s forgotten about Ardyn. Thank the Gods for Prompto’s short attention span, he thinks, and when he meets Ignis’ eye, he can tell the man is thinking the same thing. 

"There is no South Detroit," Aranea mutters. "Hey!" She yells. "There is no South Detroit! It’s just Canada!"

Gladio sings right through her heckling.

"I believe we are all well and truly toasted," Ignis says. He raises his glass to them.

_____

"Hey, that’s Ravus! He’s pretty good, huh Noct? Don’t you think he’s good, Ignis?"

Ravus is good, Noctis thinks. He says as much out loud.

_Sing us a song, you’re the piano man,_  
_Sing us a song tonight,_  
_Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody,_  
_And you’ve got us feelin’ alright._

Ignis looks murderous.

_____

Ignis bumps his shoulder against Ravus on his way toward the stage.

"Think you can outdo me?" Ravus asks.

"That is the plan, yes."

"You’ll need to -- " 

"I know."

_____

"He’s actually playing the piano," Prompto says in excitement. He tugs on Aranea’s sleeve. "Nea, he’s brilliant!"

Aranea smiles, and it’s a private thing. "Here, kid, take another shot."

"Don’t give him that," Noctis says. He reaches over and takes the shot for himself.

"Why not? He’s fun when he’s drunk."

Gladio pulls Noctis in closer. "Yeah, until he starts crying."

Prompto looks up. He’s sniffling. "I – hey!"

____

By the end, they’re all crying.

Ignis is at the piano, playing the opening to 'Stand by Me'. He leans in close to the microphone.

_When the night has come, and the land is dark…_

Gladio loses it first. "Why is this song so sad?" he wails, hiccuping through his tears.

_And the moon is the only light we’ll see…_

Prompto joins in, singing softly, _No I won’t be afraid, Oh, I won’t be afraid_ , and his voice is like the stars.

Noctis looks up at Gladio, his eyes soft and full of love.

Ignis sweeps his eyes over the audience. He is singing directly at them, the words grabbing at their heartstrings and pulling. 

_Just as long as you stand by me._

Aranea pulls them up one by one, pushing them toward the stage. Ignis croons out the first words of the chorus.

_So darlin’ darlin’, stand by me…_

Prompto is up the steps first, followed by Noct, and then Gladio. Aranea stands off to the side and watches. 

They all gather around Ignis where he sits at the piano. He has no fewer than three hands on his back and they’ve got their arms slung over each other’s shoulders. Half the room is crying. Ravus is blowing his nose into a handkerchief, white with black trim.

_If the sky that we look upon_  
_Should tremble and fall_  
_Or the mountain should crumble to the sea_  
_I won’t cry, I won’t cry_  
_No, I won’t shed a tear_  
_Just as long as you stand_  
_Stand by me._

The song wraps up and they are left sniffling and holding each other, and Ignis has his hand on Noct’s where it rests on his shoulder. The crowd seems to be giving them space, or maybe they are just doing their best to recover, because it’s silent for a long, long moment. Finally Noct looks around, meeting the eyes of all of his friends, one by one. He wipes at the tears on face.

"What can I say? You guys are the best."

**Author's Note:**

> [come visit me on Tumblr](https://itsalwaysbloodmagic.tumblr.com/)


End file.
